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| | Title: King Mongkut’s Interactions With Christianity And The Failure Of Early Protestant Missionary Efforts To Convert The Siamese Author: Hills, Douglas Martin Description: This thesis will examine the first forty years of Protestant missionary work in Siam, from 1828 to 1868. One of the prominent figures in Siam at this time was Mongkut, who became king in 1851, and reigned until his death in 1868. Because of his prominence in the society, Mongkut is one of the few Siamese of that time whose interactions with missionaries can be traced over an extended period. This paper will investigate his relationship to Christianity, and it will be seen that while Mongkut had a cautiously open attitude to western influences and was eager to accept certain elements of western civilization, he emphatically rejected Christianity throughout his life, as did most of the Siamese that the missionaries encountered. The thesis will then investigate considerations which help explain the failure of the missionary efforts to convert the Siamese, examining both factors which were outside the control of the missionaries and those which were within their control. Finally, an attempt will be made to apply what we have learned to contemporary situations. Subject: Church History | 1800-1900 Year Published: 2009 Pages: 163 Filesize:
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